For a brief moment, it felt like Brooklyn Beckham had heard the criticism and wanted to at least appear like he was putting in the work to become a professional photographer. This is the same guy who got hired to shoot a Burberry campaign at the age of 16, then released a book of his photography (which was widely panned). The criticism must have stung, and the cries of âpeak nepotismâ must have hurt his feelings. So he enrolled in photography school in New York. He lasted a year, and then he dropped out, allegedly because he was homesick. So whatâs a âphotographerâ to do now that the whole âeducationâ thing didnât work out? Um, heâs going to work for his mom. As a photographer.
Never shy of promoting Brand Beckham, fashion designer Victoria has raised eyebrows by employing teenage son Brooklyn to photograph her new luxury clothing line. The 19-year-oldâs appointment comes only four months after Victoria was forced to make a third of her staff redundant. About 60 workers lost their jobs after new investors ordered a review of Victoria Beckham Ltd, which lost ÂŁ8.5 million last year.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that months after dropping out of a photography course in New York, the oldest child of David and Victoria is on the family payroll to oversee his motherâs advertising campaigns. Former Spice Girl Victoria, 44, has a high regard for Brooklynâs ability as a photographer and his first big project was to snap her lucrative collaboration with Reebok, called the Merch Collection, earlier this summer.
A source close to the Beckhams told the MoS: âBrooklyn snapping this new campaign has raised a lot of eyebrows around the industry because he is so young and very inexperienced. But Victoria doesnât care, itâs fantastic experience for him. It is her dream to have Brooklyn working for her. She trusts his eye and loves the fact heâs young. She continually asks for his thoughts on her designs and how they are presented.â
Hand to God, this reminds me of the Middleton family âhiringâ Kate as a staff photographer for Party Pieces. Remember that? Kate first worked part-time (three days a week, with ample vacation time) at Jigsaw for a few months when she was in her mid-20s. She quit so she could be more available to William, and then she was âhiredâ by her parents to, like, photograph sh-t for Party Pieces. Anyway, thatâs what this reminds me of. Brooklyn is picking up a paycheck to take some photos of shoes a few times a month. How does he spend the rest of his time? And yes, it looks AWFUL to put your dropout son on the payroll just after you fired 60 people.
Hereâs something he shot for Poshâs Reebok collection?? You can barely see the shoes. Or anything, really.
Photos courtesy of Instagram.
And the âinvestorsâ are OK with a talentless uneducated 19-year-old âoverseeing the advertising campaignâ of this failing fashion house why??? Are the âinvestorsâDavid Beckham and David Beckhamâs offshore company?
@Kaiser, I was just going to bring up the Reebok photos. They are all not very good! Reebok hires photographers that fit their aesthetic and uhh…Brooklyn does not…but we know why he had a chance to be a part of it. Also, Posh’s Reebok collection is merely the t-shirt, I believe. Funnily enough…it’s also a Shaq collaboration. The whole concept is so bizarre!
It seems like Victoria does not like or want to handle failure in public–be it the way David treats her or letting Brooklyn fumble and learn from his mistakes–not saying those things are ok and things that she should put up with.
It says that he’ll be “overseeing the advertising campaigns,” but I wonder if Brooklyn is merely a photographer and shooting, or if he’s creative directing the shoot as well. Hopefully there’s someone with more experience to provide artistic direction.
And being “on the family’s payroll…” brand Beckham or Victoria Beckham fashion line?
Literally f*ck right off with this shit.
An expensive Leica around your neck and occasionally shooting on black and white film doesnât make you some kind of artiste.
I donât have a problem with him photographing his Mumâs collection if it was a bit of work experience on the side while he actually puts his nose to the grindstone.
There are plenty of brilliant photography courses in London if he really wanted to commit to studying it, hell, I was on one of them! UAL has a second-to-none photography and photojournalism department, and my coursemates and I were fully aware that we – and every other aspiring snapper – were never going to get staff jobs and we were going to have to scrap for every freelancing gig we could.
Itâs kind of galling to see a kid who, apparently, doesnât have an especially unique eye for photography, land this sort of job that could make or break a photographerâs career because itâs his Mumâs business.
Yeah, Iâm kinda bitter about this one.
Thereâs plenty of precedent for celebrity offspring actually putting in the work too, Stella McCartney went to CSM on the fashion course. Goddamn.
Eh…to me…that’s why you start a business…to bring your family into the fold…and I’ve NEVA had an issue with that…I DO however, have an issue with someone not getting the proper education and training that’s required to ensure that they know what they’re doing once they’re bought into the family business…so yea…I have an issue with this…you’re gonna be a photographer, then you need to get the professional/educational credentials to be one…If he didn’t want to go the school route, then he should have interned for one of the top photographers for at least a year beforehand (and I mean, starting from the grunt work of getting coffee, setting up lights…hauling crap for days)…I’m not looking at Brooklyn regarding this…he’s still a kid…I’m looking at his parents…who should know better…it’s not about paying dues…it’s about being prepared…
Yeah, I hear you about employing your family if you have the means. My husband briefly considered switching careers and opening a business that our kids could eventually take over. But of course we would make sure they are qualified to actually do the work. The business would have no credibility. We’re not Trumps, ffs!
That’s good thought but you have to make sure it is a business your child/children would want to take over. My dad owned his own business and none of my three brothers were interested in it. I see nothing wrong with hiring your own children if qualified.
Itâs better than âhiddenâ nepotism when someone claims theyâve paid their dues when all it really took was a few phone calls. That said, he better get good fast, or she is really just setting him up for failure.
I really donât understand these parents with all the resources in the world not insisting their kids get an education. The Beckhams seem like they have worked hard to raise their kids well, and yet this is a fail to me.
Heâs simply not talented, doesnât seem to be hard working, and they hired him after laying off a bunch of people. I know itâs her company, but the optics are terrible. And how long is the company going to exist for BB to âworkâ there?
He doesn’t seem to know what ‘good’ is. Or where his true talents lie. God forbid he do something unglamorous that might not ‘pop’ on instagram *eyeroll*
Victoria and David are failing him, shielding him from the life lessons he must learn to survive. Money is no protection. Otherwise you wouldn’t see these super rich kids going off the rails. Sad!
The beckhams sound like the co-dependant Middleton’s.
Plenty of kids end up working for their families company instead of going to college. Brooklyns lucky it involves doing something he’s interested in even though he doesn’t seem extremely talented at it. He would’ve been better off getting good education for photography, but maybe practicing and getting getting lots of experience will help him get better at it
So she asks for his opinion on her designs when he’s not her target demographic? That sounds smart.
My parents hired me for their company after I had spent 5 years working somewhere else. And then I had to start at the bottom of the chain, going through different areas.
VB is doing a disservice to her son. BB needs to grow up.
I am an amateur photographer, I have learned how to shoot on my own because I cannot afford stages, and lessons. out there there are TONS of people like me who can do better job than him.
Check Pinterest or Instagram.
On the other side I would kill to have the chances this brat has.
Same here. I’m self-taught because I can’t afford to go to photography or art school. There are plenty of talented amateur and enthusiast photographers who can do a better job.
I know you didn’t meant it this way, but since I’m a photography student I’m going to point this out anyway for anyone who isn’t already aware: taking photos of shoes is a lot harder than it sounds. Or least, it is if you want good, professionally-done photos of shoes. Good product photography takes skill and talent, not shared DNA with the company’s owner.
My God, that IG photo is terrible. His mother really isn’t doing him any favors by repeatedly allowing him to embarrass himself in public like this. I used to feel bad for him, but now that he’s actually attempted to study this a little bit, he should have some idea that his work isn’t that great. If he actually cared about it he’d be trying to find an educational program that works for him, and he’d stick with it and improve.
I’m just irrationally annoyed by this kid. I need to relax. đ
(Edit to add: This is my first comment, so if there’s already another Karen here I’ll gladly change my user name. Also, the reason I never comment here is because everyone else usually says what I want to say better than I could, and would ya look at that, it’s happened here too. đ)
Welcome, Karen!
Welcome, Karen!
(Thatâs how I ended up being âOther Renee.â)
Hey Karen! I am a professional photographer I agree 100%! I think his parents are not helping him at all and actually making him look horrible to everyone this profession. He most likely quit school because he wasn’t coddled, and his teachers/peers actually gave honest critiques about his work (which is amazing and helps you grow) but he couldn’t handle it and ran home. He needs YEARS of photography experience working on a campaign let alone running one for a company.
Thanks Cee and Other Renee!
So_Annoyed (I love that name!), a thousand times yes. I can’t imagine who would hire him other than his mother. This is bad for him on so many levels.
I don’t think I’m the only Julia here. I could have been the first, I’m not sure (I’ve been posting on and off for years, only noticed another recently) but I don’t think anyone who just uses their own name can object to someone else doing the same. If I was calling myself something more creative, like “Photogenic Reeboks”, THEN I’d have the right to be annoyed by someone else doing the same.
Poshâs Reebok collection has nothing to do with shoes. Capsule collections like this are usually clothes.
Brooklyn is a terrible photographer, but itâs not like they were going to have one of the people who were laid off take some pics for them – they were always going to hire a photographer. Heâs just bad at it.
On the one hand, I agree that Brooklyn should be learning and practicing at this point rather than working.
On the other hand, to anyone who says you can’t make a fashion career out being a lazy, crappy photographer, Terry “white wall + on board flash” Richardson begs to differ.
Iâll start by saying Richardson is a vile human being, and I donât care for his aesthetic.
He is however a very talented editorial photographer when he wants to be, and while his âlazyâ white background shots are lazy in many ways, there is a lot of skill there too. Thereâs a reason so many celebrities did them. He can take the dullest, most bland subjects, put them in front of a white wall, and take shots that show them with more personality and energy than anyoneâs ever seen from them. Again, I donât care for the aesthetic and I loathe the man, but that does take talent.
They are determined to make sure he is insufferable. It would be different if he had the talent or had finished school. Her label is hemorrhaging money so her answer is to hire her son who has shown no propensity for photography. The shot is terrible. It looks like something my 6 year old might take with my phone. There is so much wrong here. He was going for some 90s realness edgy street but fails.
They are desperate to make him “happen” and should just realize it is not happening for a reason. He doesn’t DO anything extraordinary.
Just let him work it out and find himself without a PR agent. He could be out there finding what he is good at instead of wasting his time on this nonsense.
One day he will look back at this and cringe. It may take a decade or two but he will.
I agree, he will look back and cringe if he does keep up with photography and grow. I just can’t see as a parent they think this is good for him? I would have forced him back into school if he wants to do this job and earn his position. Them handing it to him makes him a joke to everyone in our business.
Just noticing that the model in the Reebok pic has the same hands-behind-the-head pose that he himself is striking in the header pic… coincidence or no?
@so__annoyed
They really aren’t helping his case at all. In a way, it is rather unkind to set your own child up to be the butt of jokes and rolled eyes.
@Chaine
Hmmm. Seeing how orchestrated these people are. I am willing to believe it was some misguided ham handed attempt at irony.
He doesn’t have talent and he can’t handle formal higher education. He thinks being a celebrity is enough to make people kiss his butt or idolise him. When he realised his classmates aren’t about that life he likes to brag about, he skipped classes and eventually got booted off the course. He’s also following in his father’s footsteps by cheating on his partner (C. Moretz) so he’s a douche without any jobs to his name or fame on his own. He acts like a celeb without being one. And he’s only 19. His parents enable him so it’s the only influence he knows thus he’s a lost cause.
The funny thing is that Rocco Ritchie, who he used to copy vigorously and was in his friend group and is naturally cool and talented (painting mainly now but also videography and photography in the past), is doing his thing in London and for sure will establish himself without using his parents’ fame. Brooklyn is a try-hard and not so nice kid anymore, He’s growing up to be quite the opposite. Rocco was the rebel who shuns the spotlight now and has a diverse friend group (not the rich kids Brooklyn associates with only) while exploring his art.
Maybe sheâs doing it for exposure to his younger followers (11 million)?though I would image she has enough of her own..anyway bad idea all around, especially with the recent layoffs she just had,very tone deaf.
i wonder how many of those millions of followers are paid bots or a click farm somewhere in Asia.
Bingo.
2/3rds I would bet. At least.
I roll my eyes at this blantant nepotism BUT I also have to say this is a smart business decision: if she has to cut costs this is a smart cost to cut because a good and prominent/competitive photographer would cost a lot. But if Brooklyn Beckham can do it for free she still gets the headlines and publicity an expensive campaign would have generated because entertainment media loves children of famous people đ
Oh my goodness, where do I begin. As a professional film photographer I just roll my eyes yet again at him. The amount of opportunities this child has had based on his name alone is insane, and I must admit I am a tag jealous because I do work my butt off and things come slowly (as they should) .
I am not surprised he dropped out of photography school because it is HARD, especially when people are not paid to blow rainbows up your butt, and tell you the truth about your work.
They will most likely hire a staff to make him look good, to “mentor” him along the way (if he even listens), but that is a long shot.
That really is a terrible photograph that he took. Yikes. What a joke. The job with her company should’ve gone to an actual photographer with talent, training, & experience.
This kid is totally bland, untalented and I don’t understand why the tabloid papers cover his daily pap walks. Please, sit down Brooklyn. I don’t doubt that actual photographers sneer at his “work”. Dude doesn’t have an ounce of intuition for photography.
I am an art director in charge of photography for a major manufacturer of home fashions. This kid has no natural talent and even less skill.
If you cannot even see the shoes in the shot, WHY would you put it in Insta and brag about it?
Stupid as well as talentless, but blessed with a healthy dose of nepotism, he will probably rise farther until he self-sabotages as with his education.
There are a startling amount of people who donât realize how much of photography is really persistent practice, study, and a healthy dose of natural talent. I had a friend who dropped out and decided to major in CHEMISTRY of all things because he found it easier than photography. He admitted to me that he just didnât have the eye for it, which took self-awareness and humility Brooklyn undoubtedly lacks.
I’m a boring-ass consumer and I can’t even tell what they’re trying to sell in that pic… The sunglasses? The boots? The shirt? Her flexibility? I *think* it’s the shirt, but 50% of the outfit is shadowed/obscured anyway, so this isn’t even practical, let alone, provocative. I don’t need photography or marketing degrees to know to actually SHOW THE PRODUCT(S). đ
Did he take that with his Leica because there are non-photographers who take better pictures with their camera phones. Also, looks like this kid has no idea of what concept he is working on for this project. He probably quit art school because there his works were actually critique rather than praised with fawning comments like that photo above.
If shoes are the front and center feature of this campaign, that picture is one massive fail. There’s a shadow over the second shoe. Any good photographer will care about lighting.
He can go work for mom in an unpaid apprentice position. I don’t believe he should draw the same pay as a professional photographer. Especially since her company has money issues or she can’t balance her checkbook.
I’m shocked there is not one single school in all of England where one might continue to study photography. (When working as a professional product photographer, it is helpful to actually feature said product in the damn shot.)
I know itâs a different field of focus but Steve Irwinâs son is a fantastic wildlife photographer. Sometimes talent comes naturally. This Beckham kid though is terrible.
Thatâs a little bittersweet to read. Irwin wouldâve loved to see his son grow up passionate about the natural world the way he was, Iâd imagine.
Wow, yes Jammypants, Robertâs not only talented but has obviously put in lots of work to learn technique.
Comparing his urban photography with Brooklynâs is just embarrassing. Poor Brooklyn. OTOH, he has a loving family and all the money he will ever need, so why should he care what I think?
I donât mind involving their kids in the business if they own it, since thatâs, like, every business owner Iâve known. But placing that in positions for which they lack the experience or training is setting them up for mediocrity. A family business is still a business and needs to make sure that if families are employed that theyâre competent at the job.
I am all for family businesses. I have a relative who has a business and he finds places for “lost” relatives who can’t seem to find themselves. He makes sure they have health insurance, social security withholdings, and a retirement plan. His business has different interests so he can find something somewhere for them. Some relatives prove themselves and move up. Some move on to other things for various reasons. Some just hang out in the same job. My family believes in family businesses and so do I. I just think like everyone else some aptitude should be involved.
For this “family business”, Vicky is HEMORRHAGING (good term that magnoliarose used above) the money of INVESTORS. I think that’s why this type of move merits scrutiny.
He’s as talented behind the camera as he was in front of it.
That photo is hilarious, like a spoof!
Is this photo supposed to be an actual part of the ad campaign? To me, it looks like the buildings are the focus and the model is just kind of there like âcheck out whatâs behind me.â While I do enjoy photography as a hobby, Im in no way an expert, but I think itâs safe to say that this isnât very impressive.
Not even the buildings. In other photos posted by his mom, it looked like he was taking photos of the sky rather than the models.
He’s an amateur ‘photographer’ who has never heard the word no his entire life.
This kid, the Smith kid recently – not surprised by any of the behaviour, ponderings, etc., everything considered – just hope the next steps they take include learning that humility does not equal weakness and while there is a thing called inner wisdom, wisdom can be passed along through others (even humans, J. Smith!). Good luck to them.
Ugh, sheâs doing him no favours here. The kid does not have what it takes. Itâs not that heâs mediocre, itâs that a great deal of his work is actively bad. He has no eye. Even if he was actually willing to put in the work and learn, photography is one of those things where you do need some actual talent as a jumping off point if you have higher ambitions than being an average wedding photographer.
Umm … like .. the girl in his photo doing the split is in complete shadow. Kate Middleton is better at snapping a pic.